LETTER : Unfair to Faroes

Sir: Phil Shaw's dismissal of the Faroe Islands as "an outcrop of rock masquerading as a nation" [Independent, 28 April] is not only crass and ignorant but is also completely wrong. While there may be no universal definition of what constitutes a nation, the Faroe Islands would satisfy most of the criteria usually applied. The Faroese have their own language which underpins a distinctive national identity and culture, and their nationhood is given political expression through their own Home Rule Parliament and Government.